


spared to the sea

by aelbereth



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, F/F, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Russian Mythology, Selkies, a general mishmash of fairy tales and mythology, bigbangonice2018, slightly more angst than the disney classic tangled, symbolic dream sequence, twin magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 20:38:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13725549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aelbereth/pseuds/aelbereth
Summary: Sara is a pirate captain with a dark secret. Mila is a happy-go-lucky selkie on a quest for her friend's lost heart. When they meet one Midsummer Eve, a calm summer turns into a seafaring adventure that just might teach them the meaning of true love...





	spared to the sea

**Author's Note:**

> art by the wonderful Mikoto! check them out on tumblr [@wheniseelevimyheartgoesdokidoki](http://wheniseelevimyheartgoesdokidoki.tumblr.com). the main post for the art is [here](http://wheniseelevimyheartgoesdokidoki.tumblr.com/post/171033353404/it-sounded-like-innocence-and-the-sea-with-a).

 

 

The greatest of adventures can start with the most mundane of events, and Mila’s started with a house call. The wizard who lived on the beach was screeching again, and after a few hours’ lost sleep Mila took it upon herself to do something about the cacophony. The feeling of walking about without blubber in the Russian spring was horrible, but not worse than permanent deafness.

 

Mila heaved her body out of the water, relying on flippers for as long as she could. Unfortunately for her continued comfort, flippers were just not made for being quick on land. Letting out a dejected snort, she transformed and immediately wrapped her skin around herself as tight as possible. Her thin human hair started to freeze almost instantly. _Damn, it’s cold._

 

She ran on wobbly legs up to the wizard’s door and slapped it with her palm. “Stop your wailing! Some people are trying to sleep!” The unholy screech wavered, stopped for a moment, then started up just as strong. Mila huffed and pushed the door open.

 

“Georgi.”

 

The screaming man looked up as she tottered in. His face was streaked with tears, and— _holy Mother Sea, he’s wearing sackcloth and ashes_. She shut the door behind her, hoping to keep out some of the bone-chilling surface cold. Georgi finally shut up.

 

“Please, please tell me there’s a good reason for this. Your mother died. The sky is falling. No, don’t tell me—your prophecies say Leviathan rises tonight?”

 

He sniffed and wiped his scruffy face with a bit of sackcloth. “A-Anya…”

 

Mila wanted to scream herself. “You woke me and half the harbor up… over a girl?”

 

He looked ashamed. “I didn’t mean to overreact! It really is important… she was my true love!”

 

“Don’t throw that term around, Georgi! You know how powerful it is. Plus, wasn’t Raiza your—” she cleared her throat pointedly— “ _beloved_?”

 

“Raya?” Georgi shrieked. “Never! I put her from my mind the moment I met A-Anya…” he sobbed, thankfully at a decent pitch.

 

“Okay, okay.” Mila placated. “Anya’s your number one. What happened with her to merit _this_?”

 

“P-please don’t be mad, Mila…”

 

_Mother Sea give me strength._

 

“She has my heart.”

 

“Your heart.”

 

He nodded.

 

“The one in a needle,” the selkie started to count off her fingers, “in an egg, in a hare, in a duck, in a locked chest, buried under a tree.”

 

“I only have one!”

 

“Gods, Georgi, how do you let someone steal your most precious possession?”

 

The wizard whimpered. “I’m sorry!”

 

And the screeching started up again.

 

~

 

Anya, it seemed, was a princess Georgi had met a few months back. He’d fallen for her—“It was like lightning struck my heart, Mila, I’d never felt anything like it before—” and almost immediately given up his greatest secret: the location of his heart. She’d stolen away in the night after they had their first kiss, and taken his heart with her.

 

 _Koschei The Deathless_ was Georgi’s official title, but he wouldn’t be deathless much longer if he kept giving away all his secrets. He was immortal as long as his heart stayed secure in a tiny needle. The needle was protected by a duck’s egg that acted as an avatar; if it was thrown around or broken, Georgi’s body would be too. But the egg was safe inside a duck, and the duck was inside a hare, and the hare was locked in a chest and buried under a secret tree. It was supposed to be foolproof.

 

Georgi, evidently, was something worse than a fool.

 

The Koschei of centuries past had been feared skeletal beings, wizards who kidnapped princesses and were nigh-unbeatable because of their protected hearts. If someone managed to find the right tree, dig up the chest, and unlock it, the hare inside would run away into the surrounding forest. If they found the hare again and cut it open, the duck would fly out and attack. Even once the egg was found and the wizard could be injured, he would only die when the needle was broken.

 

They had used their invulnerability to terrorize the countryside, demanding ransom from those unlucky enough to cross their path. No one wanted to cross the Koschei, and no one dreamed of outwitting them.

 

Until Georgi inherited the title. He was a nice enough boy, and used his powers to help the seals pupping on the beach outside his house. Mila liked him, as long as she didn’t have to see him more than once a week. He was dramatic, gentle, and often lovelorn—not exactly someone to be afraid of.

 

The humans who lived nearby were glad the Koschei seemed to have disappeared. They had spread the news, apparently far enough to catch Anya’s attention.

 

Princesses were always trouble. They learned hunger for power from their fathers and manipulation from their stepmothers. Mila preferred her relationships to be much less complicated.

 

~

 

“Well, Georgi,” Mila asked. “Where do you think she went?”

 

The selkie was thankfully back in the water. As the sun rose, she’d persuaded Georgi to come down to the water’s edge because she was pretty sure human skin wasn’t supposed to be blue. After a few grateful somersaults, she beached herself next to her skeletal friend to plan their retaliation.

 

“I could probably track her. I have her hairbrush… that could be enough to fire a spell.” Georgi’s wrinkly brow was furrowed as he thought.

 

“I’m not going to ask why you have her hairbrush on hand. Here’s hoping she’s either gone to the sea, or somewhere warm. I’m not helping you if I have to be a freezing two-legs the whole time.”

 

Georgi pushed himself up with a sob and creaking of bones. “I’ll come back when I know where she is. T-thanks for helping me, Mila… I don’t know what I’d do without you!”

 

Mila dove underwater before she could be trapped in a snotty hug. That stuff stained her fur.

 

~

 

A week later, Georgi and Mila left the Northern coast behind for warmer waters. Anya’s magical trace had turned up down south, in the Mediterranean. It would be a long swim, but Mila’s wish had come true—their “vacation” would be both warm and wet.

 

Georgi transformed himself into a seal for the trip. He was a weird mix of Mila’s Grey features and something that might have been a walrus, and she teased him endlessly for living by a selkie colony and not knowing what a proper seal looked like.

 

He refused to speak to her until they passed Iceland.

 

They met a pod of mermaids at the tip of Scotland who swam with them for a few days. When she heard about their destination, the matron shuddered. “There’s strange things about in the Mediterranean, lass. My cousin’s a siren, y’know—hangs around down there. She says the pirates are all fighting each other. Bloody business. I’d stay deep underwater if I were you.”

 

Mila scoffed. “What business could pirates have with a couple of seals? We’ll keep our whiskers down, but I doubt human politics will affect us any.”

 

“Just be careful, you two. Stay away from pirates.” They promised the matron they would stay safe, if only to stop her from fretting. They soon left the pod behind, and all but forgot about the dangers of pirates.

 

~

 

Georgi and Mila reached the Mediterranean on Midsummer’s Eve. The sun was close to setting on the longest day of the year when the tired friends flopped onto a warm beach near where Anya’s signal was coming from.

 

Mila stayed in her seal form, but Georgi finally transformed out of his insult to sealkind. He then messed around with his human appearance, shooting a few sparks to raise his cheekbones, then lowering them again. Mila snoozed in the fine sand as he tried different styles of makeup.

 

After a few minutes, he turned to her with his most charming look. She cracked open one eye and snorted. “Absolutely not. You look like a raccoon.”

 

“I do not!” Georgi exclaimed. “This is the height of wizard fashion!”

 

Mila shook her head in disgust. “Well, your Anya’s not a wizard, is she? Or blind? Then she won’t appreciate the eyeliner. Go for a more subtle approach.”

 

“Like you would know! When’s the last time you seduced a princess, huh?”

 

She cringed. “Sore spot, Georgi. I don’t understand how you get all the girls.”

 

“ _Dermo_ , sorry, Mila. I guess you are a girl, so you must know something, even if you can’t find one your—”

 

“Oy!” She slapped a flipper at him.

 

“Sorry!”

 

Mila rolled onto her stomach and closed her eyes. “Dress however you want. We’re not going to find her for a while, anyway. I’m going to take a nap, and you should too, unless you want _natural_ dark circles under your eyes.”

 

~

 

Sara usually spent the Summer Solstice with Mickey. Scratch that, she _always_ spent the Summer Solstice with Mickey. As long as she could remember, they’d picked flowers as the sun shone late into the night, then danced around the fire until their feet hurt. The two of them would collapse into a pile of giggles while the flames blazed higher. She remembered the first year she had tried to jump over the fire—she had to have been fifteen—and had burned her foot on the way down. Mickey had carried her while he danced so she could still join in the fun. For all her life, she’d celebrated the longest day of the year with her twin, but this year he wasn’t there, and it was her own fault.

 

Shaking her head to try and rid herself of the guilt, Sara gazed out onto the calm Mediterranean sea. Most of her crew was ashore celebrating, probably drinking more than they should have and having an all-around marvelous time. She’d stayed behind, ostensibly to watch the ship, but really because she couldn’t bear seeing a Midsummer’s Eve bonfire without Mickey’s face on the other side of it.

 

She turned to descend into the ship—maybe she’d find some honeyed mead in the captain’s cabin. The crew wouldn’t notice her hangover if they were all nursing their own. Well, Yuuri might still notice, but he’d be too polite to say anything.

 

Right as she turned her eyes from the sea, though, Sara’s pointed ears caught a strange sound. It was—a giggle? a song?—rising gently over the water. It wasn’t ethereal and dangerous like the sirens’ song, or low like the bullfrogs’. It sounded like innocence and the Sea, with a little tint of magic distinguishing it from the sound a human girl might make as she jumped over her first bonfire. It was beautiful. Sara had to know who it was.

 

All thoughts of Summer Solstices past left her head as she untied a dinghy from the side of the _Ice Dancer_ and lowered it into the water. The sound faltered as Sara jumped into the dinghy, but started up again soon after. She rowed to the shore as fast as her arms would take her. She couldn’t miss the source of that _enchanting_ sound.

 

As she neared a sandy beach, Sara finally caught sight of the mysterious singer. It was a woman, sitting on the beach, red hair glinting in the last glimmers of sunlight. She was chuckling, seemingly to herself, as she drew her fingers through the sand. And— _Mother Mary_ —she was naked.

 

Sara’s brain stuttered to a halt. For a moment, all she could think was _beautiful girl—hair like fire—voice—breasts—looking over!_ She squeaked and dove into the cover of her boat as the girl turned her head towards her.

 

 _Goddamnit, she’ll still see the boat floating in the middle of nowhere._ Sara consigned herself to her terrible fate and lifted her head above the side of the boat.

 

The girl waved. _She waved at me!!_ Sara shook her head to prevent another short-circuit. _Just… go up to the pretty girl and say hello._ There wasn’t really another option.

 

She rowed slowly over to where the girl was sitting, keeping her eyes carefully averted from the _expanse_ of her pale skin. Grounding the boat, she hopped out and put on her best captain’s swagger.

 

“What might you be doing here, miss, all alone on Midsummer Eve?” _Ugh, that sounds creepy._ Thankfully, the girl didn’t seem to notice how awkward Sara was being.

 

“I could ask the same of you!” She smirked. “I just arrived from up north. I don’t know anyone here to invite me to a party, which I daresay is a good enough excuse for not being at one.”

 

Sara’s ears were hot. This girl was witty _and_ beautiful, and here was a perfect chance to get to know her better! She sat next to her in the sand and held out a hand. “I’m Sara. My crew’s all at a bonfire in the next bay over, and you’re welcome to join us!”

 

“Mila. Pleased to meet you!” The girl smiled brilliantly, but didn’t shake Sara’s hand. She put it down awkwardly. “I’m here with a friend, but he’s gone off to find a lost love. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I went to a party, especially on the Solstice...”

 

“Wonderful!” Sara stood and held out her hand again, this time to help Mila up. She took it for a moment, and it felt like pure magic was shooting up Sara’s arm. When Mila let go, Sara’s fingers felt cold from the loss of her touch. “I can row us over, if you’d like. And we could stop at the ship for some, uh, clothes.”

 

Mila cocked her head, looking adorably puzzled. She held up a silky fur that she must have been sitting on (Sara had resolutely kept her eyes at face level the whole time). “I’ve got my skin, and it’s dreadfully hot here... are those—” she gestured to Sara’s outfit— “necessary?”

 

Sara hadn’t thought she could get any redder, but her face just kept surprising her. “Y-yes! Clothes are necessary! It’s, um, impolite to go around naked, even if it’s hot.” _The culture up north must be_ very _different_. “I’m sure I’ve got something that’ll fit you.”

 

They climbed into the dinghy, Mila bringing the strange fur with her. Sara asked her about it once she’d started rowing.

 

“My skin?” Sara noticed that Mila clutched it a little closer to herself when asked. “I need it to turn. Have you not met a selkie before?”

 

 _A selkie!_ It all made sense now: not knowing human customs, coming from the north, the— _ahem_ —nudity. “Oh, my navigator’s a selkie! I should have known. His skin’s smaller than yours, though—darker, too. And he, um, wears clothes.”

 

“Wow, I didn’t know there were other breeds down here! I’ve never been this far south. I haven’t met a lot of humans, either. Sorry about the clothes thing.” She had her skin wrapped around herself now, fortunately for Sara’s sensibilities. _I’m a goddamn pirate captain_ , she berated herself, _not some swooning courtier. Why am I so flustered?_

 

“I’ll introduce you two at the bonfire!” Sara had a feeling Otabek and Mila would get along. Not just because they were both seal people; it took a certain kind of bubbliness to get her navigator out of his shell, and Mila seemed to have it. Her personality was as enchanting as her laugh.

 

The dinghy pulled up to Sara’s ship after a few minutes on the sea. As they climbed on board, Sara was hit with a new wave of embarrassment. Yurio had thrown a fit a few days before and slacked off on his cabin boy duties to sulk in the crow’s nest, so the deck was littered with the natural dirt that comes from a pirate crew running around with no one to clean up after them. The extra rigging ropes were uncoiled, there was a strange stain by the wheel, and several barrels were even tipped over. How could Sara have brought a cute girl aboard when the ship was a mess? She cursed Yurio’s temper.

 

Mila didn’t seem to mind. She was looking up at the tall mast that stretched into the sky. The sails were furled, but she seemed impressed just by the height of it and the complicated rigging barely visible in the dark. Sara allowed herself to preen a little. Her ship _was_ a beauty, messy or not. “Welcome to the _Ice Dancer_!” She spread her arms and did a tiny bow. “Like I said, everybody’s at the party. It’s usually much louder around here.”

 

She lead Mila to her quarters and buried her head in her clothes chest before she could think too long about having a pretty girl in her room. “It’s beautiful…” the selkie murmured, trailing her fingers along a carved sconce on Sara’s wall. “Are you the captain?”

 

Sara pulled a silky blue dress out of the chest. She hadn’t worn it in ages—far too fancy for day-to-day pirate life. She held it out to Mila with a soft smile. “Co-captain. With my—” The smile slid off her face. “I mean. Yeah, I’m the captain. Here, try this on.”

 

Mila frowned, but didn’t ask. She took the dress, fingers brushing for a moment against Sara’s. Her hands were soft under the thin sheen of salt covering her skin. Sara turned around to hide the tears threatening her eyes. She could hear the soft rustling of the dress as Mila slid it on. She felt a hand on her shoulder as the rustling stopped, and quickly wiped her eyes before turning to face her guest again.

 

“Could you do up the back?” Mila asked. She looked eerie in the soft moonlight, the blue of the dress clashing beautifully with her red hair. The fabric dipped low on her back, revealing muscular shoulders Sara couldn’t draw her eyes away from. She walked closer to her and fastened the mother-of-pearl buttons running down her spine. In the silence, Sara was sure Mila could hear her thumping heart, but the moment ended too soon to tell. She stepped back and Mila twirled, the embroidery in her skirt catching the light.

 

“Let’s go down to the fire, then.” Sara stopped herself from raining compliments on her guest—they’d only just met. Better to introduce her to the rest of the crew than spend the night with a mourning no-longer-co-captain. Mila deserved a good Midsummer’s Eve.

 

~

 

The Midsummer’s Eve bonfire was the most fun Mila had had in ages. Georgi was off moping in the forest, so she figured it would be fine to leave him for a few hours while she got to know some people in this brand new place. She’d always been good at making friends, but the familiarity of the _Ice Dancer_ ’s crew was surprising even for her. They accepted her into their fold immediately, dancing and drinking and telling stories of Midsummers past.

 

There was Yuuri, a human-looking man a few years older than Mila who got progressively drunker throughout the night. She’d thought he was non-magical up until he tried to jump over the fire and transformed in the air into a beautiful crane, easily flying over the flames and alighting gently on the other side. He was a brilliant dancer—Mila felt like she was flying too the few times he spun her around—but he got sloppier and sloppier until eventually he was grinding up against some poor nereid with his cravat around his head.

 

Minami was another bird spirit, much smaller than Yuuri in both human and bird form. The older crew members seemed to be keeping him away from the alcohol, but he got at least one drink in before turning into the tiniest bird Mila had ever seen and flitting around over everyone’s heads the rest of the night. He looked like another yellow star in the sky as he spun and dipped.

 

The youngest member of the crew was a _domovoi_ , confusingly also named Yuri. She was glad to see a Russian spirit among all the unfamiliar people, but he stayed far away from everyone, only speaking up to spew insults at his namesake. He did dance once, with Otabek, the other selkie.

 

Otabek was a stoic boy with a fur jacket who talked to Mila for almost the whole night. He was a Caspian seal, a breed Mila had never met before. They traded family stories and he helped her understand some of the strange human culture she was evidently missing. They practiced a few “handshakes” and Otabek explained the unfortunate need for clothes. Apparently humans cooked their fish, too!

 

And then there was Sara.

 

The captain spent most of the night staring into the fire with a melancholy expression on her face. Mila coaxed her out to dance once or twice, but she mostly sat by herself and drank. Mila didn’t push—it was obvious Sara had something big on her mind. But she would have liked to have spent more time with her.

 

Sara was possibly the prettiest girl Mila had ever seen. She was humanoid except for her long pointed ears, which cut through her dark hair like a shark’s fin through water. Her eyes, too, seemed a little more that human. They were a deep purple that reminded Mila of the northern lights she had loved to watch back home. Her hands were calloused from hard work, and her strength showed in her shoulders when she rowed.

 

Mila didn’t have the best of luck with girls. She tended to form shallow, quick relationships and swim away when things got difficult, and there are only so many hearts you can break in a single pod. A little part of her had come with Georgi just so she’d see some fresh faces.

 

She really hoped she could make it with Sara. Of course, they’d only known each other for a few hours. She could even be straight! But Mila didn’t think so. When the captain had touched her hand, it felt like she’d been stung by an electric eel. And in her bedroom under the moonlight—

 

There was no way Sara wasn’t into her.

 

~

 

Mila spend the next few days multitasking. During the day, she’d help Sara and the crew around the ship, doing this and that to help out (the _Ice Dancer_ didn’t currently have a cook, which was becoming quite a problem with morale). She learned how to coil rope, fry fish, and row the dinghy. In the evenings, she and Georgi continued his hunt for Anya. He was scrying every night to try and catch a glimpse of her and ascertain what she’d done with his heart. After several nights with no result, Georgi changed tactics.

 

“I’m going to go into the towns and ask around.” He announced one morning when Mila was really not awake enough to be talking to him. “I’ll traverse every island if it means I can see Anya again!”

 

Mila snorted in assent. Her patch of sand was _soo comfortable..._

 

“Will you be alright without me? I’ll come back on the Equinox to check in. You’re entertaining yourself fine, right?” She splashed him amicably before turning around and going back to sleep. Really, he wasn’t the one who should be worried. She’d be surprised if he hadn’t met a new girl by the next full moon.

 

~

 

When the sun had risen high enough for _decent_ people to be awake, Mila swam out to the _Ice Dancer_. She spotted Yuuri on the deck and barked up at him, but he didn’t notice her. Perturbed, she transformed and climbed aboard. She grabbed the dress she’d started leaving on deck for human modesty and tied her skin around her waist, then snuck up behind him when he still hadn’t acknowledged her.

 

Standing on his left side, she reached an arm around and tapped his right shoulder. Yuuri looked to the right, spooked, and she burst out laughing. “I didn’t think you’d fall for that! What’s got you so distracted, Birdboy?”

 

Yuuri huffed. “I’m not distracted. I’m standing guard, protecting the ship.” His eyes scanned the water, as if looking for something he’d dropped in.

 

“From what, silly? We’re in shallow port. No sirens or sea serpents are gonna get us in here.” Mila leaned against the railing and tried to follow Yuuri’s gaze. “What are you _really_ looking for?”

 

It was obvious a moment later, when a beautiful tail crested the water. It was icy blue, and was followed a moment later by a head of long grey hair. The nereid did a precise flip before diving under again. Yuuri sighed.

 

“You have a crush!!” Mila shrieked.

 

“Keep your voice down!” Yuuri hissed. “He doesn’t know I exist.”

 

“Mother Sea, that sucks. Does Sara know you’re watching a pretty _rusalka_ instead of doing your duties?” She smirked.

 

“Yeah, she knows. Won’t stop teasing me about it either.” He sighed again. It was hilarious. “What do you mean, _rusalka_? He’s a nereid.”

 

Mila cocked her head. “Well, with that colouring, he’s obviously from up north. That’s what we call them in Russia—nereides, mermaids, you know.”

 

“Oh. I’ve never even _talked_ to him, much less asked where he’s from.” Yuuri’s crush hadn’t surfaced in a few minutes—Mila must have scared him away. “I know his name’s Viktor, though.”

 

“Viktor, huh? Cute.” She turned to leave. “Anyway, I’ve got to find Sara. Good luck with your boy!”

 

Yuuri smiled goodbye and turned back to the ocean.

 

~

 

Mila knocked sharply on the door to Sara’s quarters. She was very grateful to Otabek for teaching her that trick—it was a lot louder than just slapping a palm or flipper. She still had a lot to learn about human culture.

 

Sara answered the door grumpily, but smiled when she saw Mila standing outside. “I’d been wondering when you’d show up. I’ve got an invitation for you.” She shepherded Mila into her quarters and sat down on the bed. “How would you feel about joining our crew?”

 

Mila was pretty sure she’d never smiled this wide before. “I came here to ask the same thing! Georgi is going inland to search for Anya, but he knows I can’t leave the Sea for too long. I don’t have to look after him anymore, so I was wondering if I could keep helping out with you!”

 

“That’s perfect! We’re lucky to have you onboard.” Sara held out a hand. Mila stared at it for a moment, trying to remember what Otabek had told her about this sort of thing… _yes! I shake it!_ She grasped Sara’s hand in hers, letting out a gentle gasp when the electric-eel sparks ran up her arm again.

 

Sara’s voice faltered as she let go of Mila’s hand. “There’s another thing we need to talk about. Where do you want to keep your skin?”

 

Even though she trusted Sara, Mila couldn’t help the chill that ran down her spine. If a selkie’s skin wasn’t on their person, it had to be hidden away where no one could possibly find and steal it. Without a skin, a selkie couldn’t turn, and whoever held the skin had power over the selkie. Mila’s hands clenched around the skin around her waist. She wanted to be open with her new crew, but selkie instinct ran deep. She wasn’t letting anyone near her skin.

 

Sara noticed her discomfort and held up her hands placatingly. “I’m not taking it, and you don’t have to tell me anything. If you’re more comfortable talking to Otabek, that’s fine. I just… know what it’s like to feel trapped. And I don’t want you to feel like that on my ship.”

 

Mila’s shoulders relaxed, and her hands unclenched slowly. “Are you saying you know how to keep it safe?

 

Relieved, Sara nodded. “I’m sure you’ve noticed Otabek’s jacket. That’s how he keeps his skin--it’s always on him, so no one can take it. I know a magical seamstress in Lydia who can make it into something easier to wear without hurting the skin, if you’d like.”

 

“That sounds… amazing.” A weight felt lifted off of Mila’s chest. Her skin was always a liability when she was in human form, and her anxiety had grown as she spent more and more time with legs. The option of a life—and maybe a romance—without the danger of being taken captive was the best news she’d ever heard.

 

~

 

Yurio was sulking again, and he was keeping Sara awake. _It’s times like these_ , she thought, _when I wonder why I keep that stupid_ domovoi _aboard._

 

The boy was a Russian house spirit, a lot like the brownies Sara’s Irish cousins had told her about when they were young, but less outwardly malevolent. He brought good luck to the ship, and was a good enough cabin boy when he actually did his duties. It was always calming to catch a glance of his dusty blond fur early in the morning; his presence made the ship feel like a home. Except when there was unrest in the air.

 

A _domovoi_ was attuned to the emotions of the inhabitants of the house they protected, and poor Yuri had more people to look after than the average house spirit. Whenever the balance was disrupted, whether by a lovers’ quarrel or a supper of bad fish, Yuri became more of a nuisance than a help. He yowled from the crow’s nest at night, stopped cleaning the decks, and even escalated to throwing things around if the situation got too tense. Ironically, he didn’t mind cursing like a standard _domovoi_ ; most of the swearing on the ship actually came from him.

 

This time Sara was pretty sure she knew the cause of her house spirit’s discomfort. They’d added a new member to the crew, and Yurio was not a fan. The morning after the Summer Solstice party, when Mila had first come aboard during the day, he’d hissed at her in Russian, not expecting her to hiss right back. They’d traded what sounded like petty retorts and insults until Otabek dragged Yuri away to calm down.

 

Even now that Mila was staying on the ship for good, Yuri hadn’t really warmed up to her. He tolerated her presence because Otabek liked her, but he made sure the crew of the _Ice Dancer_ felt his displeasure. Like right now, screeching long before the sun was due to come up.

 

Sara groaned and covered her head with a pillow. She knew from experience that she’d just have to weather the sleepless nights until Yurio felt the ship was proper again. He’d get used to Mila eventually.

 

~

 

Pirate life suited Mila very well. She slept belowdecks in a hammock (a human invention she absolutely loved) and took her meals with the rowdy crew. She and Otabek transformed and swam almost every morning. It was lovely to have another selkie to play with, especially because Otabek, at four feet, was much smaller than her six, and she could always beat him at wrestling.

 

While in human form, Mila could wear her skin almost as easily as she did in seal form. Sara’s seamstress friend in Lydia had fashioned it into a mid-length cloak that blew around her shoulders in the wind while they sailed. It had been difficult to let someone else touch the skin, but the seamstress understood her situation and let her stay nearby the whole time. She still never let the skin out of her sight, but it was far easier when she could wear it hands-free.

 

Sara had dubbed her the _Ice Dancer_ ’s boatswain. She would check the hull for weak spots, which was easy in her seal form, as well as doing minor repairs when they came up. When she didn’t have official duties to perform, Mila liked to search for Yurio. The little spirit was hard to find when he wasn’t yelling, but she did, he’d inadvertently teach her some very good swear words.

 

She and Sara often teamed up to cook. In lieu of an actual cook, the crew was on rotation in the galley, with each person scheduled about twice a month. Sara brought old Italian recipes she’d learned from her mother and grandmother, and Mila brought the best fish she could catch. She loved being in the galley with Sara; her captain’s composure would fall away, revealing the fun-loving girl underneath. Her long black hair would frizz up in the heat, and she often rolled up her sleeves to reveal the powerful muscles in her arms. Mila always blamed her blush on the heat from the stove.

 

Mila was confused about the lack of fighting, though. She was fairly sure pirates were supposed to pillage towns and sink ships—the mermaid pod on the way down had even warned her that the Mediterranean pirates were in the middle of a violent fight against each other. Why, then, did the _Ice Dancer_ seem not to be affected? The ship sailed from port to port, meeting with friends and trading in seemingly legal ways. The closest call they’d had with danger was a glimpse of a sea serpent off the coast of Crete. She was a little disappointed, if she was honest. Yuuri was supposed to be a master fencer! She wanted to see some action.

 

~

 

One lazy morning when there was nothing for her to do aboard the ship, Sara sat with Yuuri on the aft deck, watching Minami fix a hole in the rigging. It was a funny thing to watch, although Sara never laughed for fear of hurting her smallest crew member’s feelings. Minami had terrible balance in his human form, but his bird form, a Japanese Goldcrest, was far too tiny to do the job.

 

Minami was a little yellow ball of feathers small enough to sit easily in Sara’s hand. It was a very convenient form for distractions; Minami would sit on Yuuri’s shoulder during swordfights, then fly out at the critical moment to catch the enemy’s attention. If they weren’t instantly entranced by how _cute_ the little bird was, he’d fly into their face tiny talons first. Either method worked to give Yuuri the opening he needed to finish the enemy off.

 

The problem, and the hilarity, arose when he did his everyday job as the _Ice Dancer_ ’s rigger. Whenever Minami felt he was losing balance, he’d instinctively spread his wings to regain it. Upon realising that he didn’t have wings, he’d change into bird form with a _pop_ and basically disappear from view. Once he felt balanced again, he’d _pop_ into human form, get some work done, and start the cycle again. It all happened within a few seconds, and it was wildly entertaining for crew members who were shirking their duties or genuinely had nothing to do.

 

The next time he changed into his bird form, however, Minami didn’t switch back. Instead, he flew down from the mast and landed on Yuuri’s head, chirping loudly.

 

Yuuri chuckled. “Can’t understand you like that, Kenjirou. What’s so exciting it merits coming all the way down here?”

 

Sara didn’t think birds could blush, but Minami was doing a pretty good job. He changed, once again, into human form, landing pretty hard on the wood of the deck. “There’s—” he gasped, out of breath, “—a little boat coming our way!”

 

Sara jumped to her feet. The _Ice Dancer_ hadn’t seen another ship in several days. Maybe the crew of this boat would know why. She saw Yuuri instinctively put his hand to his belt, grabbing for his sword, but he’d stopped carrying it in the last few peaceful weeks. Sara ran to the starboard side, grabbing a spyglass from her jacket pocket and putting it to her eye as soon as she stopped at the railing.

 

The boat was indeed little. It didn’t look much bigger than the dinghy tied to the side of the _Ice Dancer_ . She saw two figures, but one looked like it was swimming behind the boat, while the other was perched at the stern. She continued staring, confused, until she saw a flash of icy blue tail in the water behind the boat. _Oh! Looks like Yuuri’s nereid has come to visit_ , she smirked. She didn’t say anything to the nearsighted man in question. He’d figure it out soon enough.

 

By that time, a few other crew members had joined her, Yuuri, and Minami at the starboard railing. They’d likely heard Minami’s excited screeching at the prospect of visitors. Sara was distracted from the situation for a moment by Mila’s arrival—her hair was soaking wet and dripping down her shoulders in a way that brought attention to the swimmers’ muscles there… She shook her head and refocussed the spyglass.

 

The figures had drawn close enough to come into focus. The one in the water, Yuuri’s nereid, was pale and freckled, with long silver hair that flowed behind him as he swam. He had webbed fingers and eyes as blue as his glimmering scales. Sara heard a squeak behind her as Yuuri finally realised who was pushing the boat. She grinned for a moment before putting her stern captain’s face back on.

 

The man in the boat looked to be human, and about Yuuri’s age. He had light blonde hair, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Sara really hoped he had one with him, and had just taken it off because of the hot sun. She didn’t need the hassle of anyone getting a bloody nose.

 

The boat finally reached the _Ice Dancer_ , and the nereid’s tail split into legs with an exaggerated _poof_ of magic as the two men began climbing aboard. The crew moved back as Sara stepped forward, taking the captain’s role as the first to greet visitors. She hooked her spyglass onto her belt and addressed the two men.

 

“Welcome to the _Ice Dancer_. I am Sara Crispino, this ship’s captain. Do you bring news from port?”

 

The nereid wasn’t paying her any attention at all. His eyes scanned the crowd behind her, and eventually landed on someone. He turned a beautiful shade of red. The blonde man elbowed his companion, but he seemed too stunned to speak. Sighing, the human cleared his throat and bowed deeply.

“Thank you for allowing us onto your ship, Madame Crispino.” Sara blushed slightly. She hadn’t been addressed so formally in years. “I am Christophe Giacometti, and my dumbstruck companion here is Viktor of the nereides. If he would only get himself together, we are here to meet someone. I hear there’s a very handsome crane onboard?” He winked.

 

Everyone turned to look at Yuuri. The poor boy was so embarrassed he’d somehow made himself physically smaller. He looked like he was about to faint.

 

Viktor cleared his throat, and the crew’s heads turned as one to look back at him. “I have come to sleep with you!”

 

Yuuri changed form in the blink of an eye and flew away with a flash of black and red.

 

~

 

Mila’s initial impression had been that Viktor was a quiet, awkward man, due to his inability to introduce himself, but that idea was thoroughly erased over lunch. His blonde friend— _do call me Chris,_ he’d told her as he kissed her hand—had taken over the galley almost immediately after Yuuri’s sudden departure. He made them a delicious meal, far better than what they’d been living on with their co-operative cooking schedule (especially when it was Yuri’s turn to cook). Viktor, as soon as he got over the shock of having the boy he was pursuing literally fly away from him, was talkative and charming, if a little overdramatic.

 

“I’ve been trying to get his attention for _ages_ ! He’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen… every time I see him fly my heart jumps into my throat and I think I’m going to die right then and there from pure joy!” _Well,_ Mila thought, head resting on her hands as she listened to Viktor rhapsodize about the colours of Yuuri’s wings, _I wouldn’t say a_ little _overdramatic. He’s like a prettier, more tolerable Georgi._

 

The situation was pretty hilarious, though. Mila couldn’t count the times she’d found Yuuri sighing about the beautiful nereid who was _so out of his league_ and _probably didn’t know he existed_ and now here he was, as beautiful as promised, but dorky and sweet and just as enamoured with Yuuri. Yuuri was one lucky bird, if he ever came back.

 

~

 

Yuuri’s graceful crane form appeared on the horizon at sunset. He landed on the deserted poop deck, and he and Viktor had a whispered conversation Mila couldn’t hear, despite her and Yurio’s best efforts to sneak up and ruin the moment. They’d been almost close enough when Viktor kissed Yuuri’s cheek and Yurio couldn’t hold in a disgusted snort. Mila shushed him, but it was too late; the giddy couple saw them hiding behind a pile of crates. Yuuri looked at her disapprovingly as she and Yurio walked away in shame, and Mila felt like a pup being chastised by her mother. Despite the embarrassment, she ran to tell Sara the sweet gossip as soon as she got belowdecks. Making fun of the new couple was going to be so much fun!

 

~

 

Sara had noticed something strange in the past few days. Although Mila was happy with her cloak, she still flinched when it brushed against someone else—she refrained from twirling or any sort of movement that would let the skin touch another person. They’d talked about it a little, and it seemed it was just selkie culture—so many of them had been forced into marriage by people who kept their skins from them that selkie children were taught from birth not to let anyone outside of their even touch their most precious possession. Mila hadn’t personally fallen victim to skin-stealing, but it was common enough that she knew selkies who had. Sara had gotten used to the strange meekness that contrasted with Mila’s usual bubbly demeanour; that wasn’t what was on her mind.

 

The weird thing was that it seemed to be happening less. The day before, the two of them had been sitting cross-legged on the deck, Mila’s skin over her lap, and a rogue wave had jerked the ship and sent Sara closer to Mila than she usually sat. Her knee had touched Mila’s, and with it, the skin, but she hadn’t reacted. She’d just kept telling her story! What was going on?

 

Sara was even more confused because, although Mila was comfortable and friendly with the rest of the crew, it seemed like only the captain herself (and occasionally Otabek) were allowed to get close enough to be in danger of touching the skin. Why was Sara the only non-selkie with the privilege?

 

There was one explanation digging at the back of her mind, one she hadn’t let herself dwell on because it seemed like wishful thinking… _Could she, somehow, impossibly, like me as much as I like her?_ The thought brought the blood rushing to Sara’s cheeks. She’d never dated anybody before; pirating and Mickey had taken up her whole life until she had suddenly found herself with a calm ship and no brother. She didn’t have much experience with flirting, and the way Mila treated her didn’t seem much like the over-the-top sappinness between Yuuri and his nereid. She wondered if Mila, too, felt the strange _zing_ whenever they touched.

 

Sara found herself, for the millionth time since he’d left, wishing Mickey was there to help her. Even if he would probably be a huge ass about the idea of her dating, he was always a safe place to go back to when the world was confusing. There was something about having a twin, a companion who’d always been there and knew you as well as you knew yourself. She missed him so, so much.

 

~

 

Mila woke in the middle of the night to a strange weight on her feet. She sat up with a jerk, swinging the hammock and dislodging whatever had been sitting on her. It fell to the floor with a familiar screech. Grinning, Mila leaned upside-down over the side of her hammock to look Yuri in the eyes. He scowled, but seemed to appreciate the shadow her hair cast as it stood straight ‘up’ from her head.

 

“What’s up, Yurio?”

 

The little _domovoi_ poked at her hair. “You look like you’ve been hit by lightning.”

 

Mila stuck out her tongue. “That’s not the kind of thing you say to a lady!”

 

“You’re not a lady.” Yuri smiled, which made Mila a little scared for her own wellbeing. “You’re a _baba yaga_ and I hate you.”

 

“Aww, Yura! I knew you’d accept me eventually!” She tumbled out of the hammock and caught him in her arms. Yuri screeched and kicked his legs.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I hate you, you horrible old hag! You’re _not_ part of my crew! You and the captain are super gross together and you should stop flirting with her!”

 

Mila grinned. No swearing at all? In Yuri-speak, that was practically a love confession. “I love you too, Yurochka.” He made a face at the pet name. “Now please let me go back to sleep.”

 

~

 

On the Autumn Equinox the crew of the _Ice Dancer_ found themselves mysteriously run aground on an island they’d never seen before. Otabek had checked the charts and set the course right before he went to bed, and Chris had been on watch all night, but somehow the ship had ended up nowhere near their destination. Confused and suspicious, the crew held a meeting on the main deck before setting foot on the island.

 

The assembled group murmured worriedly to themselves for several minutes before Sara called them to order. Instead of announcing a plan, she started the meeting with a question.

 

“Has anyone seen Yuuri?” Mila shook her head, looking around to see if he was in the crowd.

 

Viktor raised his hand. “He’s still in bed, Captain! Had a late night last night, so I let my sleeping beauty rest this morning.” Coos and groans ran through the crew. Mila, after overexposure to Viktor and Yuuri’s sappiness, was firmly in the latter camp.

 

Her attention was diverted away from Viktor when Sara cleared her throat in a very commanding manner. “Thank you, Viktor. On to our situation, then. Otabek and I have checked the charts again and again, and I’m afraid we have absolutely no idea where we are.”

 

“Perfect.” Yurio spoke up. “If Beka can’t find this gods-forsaken island, no one can. I’m gonna be stuck here forever with people I hate!” Viktor ruffled his fur and Yurio snapped his teeth at him.

 

Sara ran an aggravated hand down her face, smudging the remnants of yesterday’s lipstick. Mila thought about smudging that lipstick a little more, and her eyes stayed trained on Sara’s lips while she spoke again. “Please, everyone, don’t panic. We’ll send a few scouts out to see if we can find anyone on this island who knows where we are. The _Ice Dancer_ has a capable crew, and I believe in you. We’ll figure this out together.”

 

As the crew started to disperse, Yuuri’s head poked out of the door to belowdecks. Standing next to Mila, Viktor almost burst into tears from how cute his sleep-ruffled boyfriend looked. Yuuri traipsed over to the officers, stifling a yawn. “Why was everyone up here? Crew meeting?” He looked around at the beach surrounding them, blinked, rubbed his eyes, then looked again. “Why are we at Phichit’s?”

 

Sara gasped. “You know where we are?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, this is where my best friend lives! I didn’t think I’d ever see him again—” Yuuri looked back at the hatch to the galley longingly. “I’ll tell you all about it, but can we get breakfast first?”

 

~

 

Over coffee and hard tack, Yuuri told them the story of how he’d met Phichit. “Y’know Calypso?” he asked. Otabek and Sara nodded, while Mila looked frantically back and forth between them. She really should have read up on the magical history of the Mediterranean before she came down. “Phichit’s got the same deal going on. He’s cursed to always lose the ones he loves. He can’t leave his island, but every once in awhile the Sea will send him a visitor, and once they fall for each other… they have to leave, and can never find the island again.”

 

Viktor cleared his throat pointedly. “Are we marooned on an island with your ex, _ptichka_? Do I have to fight him for your love?”

 

Christophe wolf-whistled, and Yuuri reddened. “No, no. I actually became Phichit’s first friend. I  was blown out of my family’s nest on Aeaea a few years ago during a storm and ended up here. I had some of the best weeks of my life with Phichit, but the Sea eventually took me away. It lead me to the _Ice Dancer_ , in fact. I left this island only a few days before I met you, Sara.”

 

“Well, that means the island’s safe,” Sara ascertained, “and that’s what matters for now.”

 

Otabek cut in. “We’ll probably be here for a while, then. No use in trying to leave if there’s magic keeping us here.”

 

Sara nodded. “I guess we could all use a vacation.”

 

~

 

Phichit was a bubbly, dark-skinned human man who welcomed them into his home like, well, he hadn’t seen people in years. He got more and more excited as his dining room filled up, finally bursting into tears when Yuuri walked in. The two friends hugged each other tight and started babbling at each other almost simultaneously, desperate to make up for years of lost time.

 

Sara watched them chatter as she picked at the fruit Phichit had picked for them from the trees and vines that populated his fertile island. Phichit beamed as he was introduced to Viktor, saying something intelligible that turned Yuuri’s ears red. Yuuri, in turn, seemed to be  complimenting the décor, apparently greatly changed since he’d stayed on the island. It was the easy conversation of two people who knew each other deeply.

 

Sara missed that feeling so, so much. The way Yuuri and Phichit fit together, as if they hadn’t spent a day apart, reminded her of the first time she and Mickey had reunited after he’d spent a summer in the fairy Court. They had never been apart for that long before, and she’d been worried he’d come back different, too enchanted by fairies to care about his boring old sister. But they had come together just like they always did, like two halves of a whole. Mickey had listened to the stories of her mundane summer with the same attentiveness she held for his adventures at Court. He had always been there for her, always known what to say.

 

 _No use dwelling on the past when I have a crew to take care of_ , she thought stubbornly, and turned away from the reunited friends. Her eyes met Mila’s from across the room. The selkie seemed embarrassed, and immediately lowered her gaze. Sara smiled. _After all, the future promises to be very interesting._

 

~

 

“Don’t you get scared?” Mila asked. She and Sara were lying on the beach side by side, watching the stars over Phichit’s island. Her sealskin covered their legs, and Sara’s hair was so close to her face she could smell the salt in it.

 

Sara turned to face her. “Of what?

 

Mila couldn’t quite meet her eyes. They were too strange, too purple. She’d never seen eyes like that before, and she doubted she would again. “Of being responsible for all these people. Your crew depends on you to keep them safe, and the Sea is a dangerous place. What if Phichit hadn’t been nice to us? What if we ran into, I don’t know, a sea serpent, or Charybdis and Scylla, or a ship full of pirates that actually _hurt_ people? Doesn’t it scare you?”

 

“Yeah, it scares me.” Sara closed her eerie eyes and ran a hand through her hair. “If I let myself think about it. You’re right—the Sea is a dangerous place. Especially here, where everything is full of magic. I-I’ve lost people before, Mila. I know the risks.

 

“But it’s worth it. Because this is the life—” She paused, as if considering her words. “This is the life my brother and I chose. This is why we dreamed, and saved up, and bought our own ship, and made a name for ourselves. There’s nothing like the pirate life. You know how addicting the Sea is, Mila. You can’t stay away either. You didn’t go inland with Georgi; you and Otabek swim almost every day.”

 

Mila wanted so badly to finally unlock the secret of Sara’s brother and why she was so afraid of speaking about him, but she knew it wasn’t her question to ask. She would wait for Sara to bring it up; to learn to trust like she herself had learned. She reached her hand out and gently took Sara’s, entwining their fingers. The electric-eel spark, now a familiar feeling, tingled in her arm. Sara squeezed her hand and continued.

 

“I put on a brave face for my crew. Most of them know what they’re in for, too, but Minami—” A tear escaped her closed eye. Mila watched as it slid down her cheek and held a moment before dropping into the sand. “He and Yurio, they’re so young. If I’m scared for anyone, it’s them. When everyone started to panic today, I kept them calm, but my mind was racing with _who is to blame if these little ones die?_

 

“It takes a lot, being a captain. It was easier when I had Mickey to share the load. But I wouldn’t give it up for anything.” Sara let go of Mila’s hand to wipe her eyes. It felt cold in the evening air for a moment, but then Sara took it again and Mila’s heart sped up.

 

“Thank you.” Mila whispered. “For trusting me.” Sara caught her eyes and smiled.

 

Their faces were so close together, Mila could barely breathe. Having Sara touch her sealskin had been intimate enough, but now they were holding hands and their thighs were touching and her whole brain seemed to be filled with nothing but thoughts of the beautiful pirate next to her. She could see the pearl-like tears caught on the ends of Sara’s eyelashes. She watched one fall, trying to calm her heart. Were Sara’s lips getting closer? She couldn’t look down without going cross-eyed, so she closed her eyes and hoped.

 

Then Sara’s soft lips _finally_ met hers and Mila’s whole body relaxed.

 

She laid a hand on Sara’s waist and felt a shudder go through the captain’s body. Sara’s lips were chapped and salty, but oh-so-tender against her skin. Her calloused hands brushed through Mila’s hair again and again as they kissed. She felt like a hurricane, every gentle touch leaving Mila trembling.

 

 _I’d stay in this form forever,_ Mila thought, _if every day were like this._

 

When their kisses slowed down, Sara pulled herself up into sitting, suddenly filled with laughter. Mila couldn’t help smiling, too, even though she had no idea what was so funny. “Charybdis and Scylla won’t be a problem, you know.” Mila cocked her head in surprise. “They’re really nice, actually, just don’t like people navigating their ships between them. Married for millennia, those two, and they’re still so crazy about each other. I’ll take you to visit them sometime.”

 

Mila giggled. “You’re telling me the most feared monsters of the Mediterranean, the ones everyone warned me about before I came down here, the ones I’ve literally had nightmares about… are a sweet old married couple?”

 

“Yep. They’re pretty good friends with my grandparents on my mother’s side. It sounds crazy, but I’m being completely serious.”

 

Mila laid her head on Sara’s strong shoulder. “I can’t believe this is my life. I’m sitting on a cursed island, kissing the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met, and her grandparents are friends with giant lesbian sea monsters.”

 

“I think you’re pretty strange yourself, Miss selkie-from-above-the-Arctic-circle. But I like you for it.”

 

Mila laughed. Her stomach felt like a whole school of minnows was swimming around inside it. She’d never felt so happy. Her whole world had narrowed down to the beach, and the two of them, and the feeling of Sara’s skin on hers. Nothing else mattered.

 

Wrapped up in Sara, Mila didn’t remember her promise to meet Georgi on the Equinox. She wouldn’t even think about Georgi for days.

 

~

 

Although Phichit’s island was delightful, eventually the _Ice Dancer_ would have to leave. Sara missed the feeling of the wind in her hair as she sailed at top speed. She could tell the selkies were restless, too; they were constantly on the water, and their silhouettes seemed to surface further and further out with every passing day. Mila confided in her that she missed the deep-sea currents and the sea life. The water near the island was eerily barren; there were a few fish and some brilliant displays of coral, but no intelligent creatures. No one could get near enough to break Phichit’s exile.

 

Yuuri was hopelessly torn between his beloved friend and the rest of his life. He and Phichit sat together long into the night, discussing the parameters of the curse, and how it could be broken. Phichit was hopeful—the curse must be loosening, he figured, because he’d never had this many visitors before, and no one had ever returned. There was no denying the pull, though. The sea wouldn’t give up that easily; she tempted the crew with all her might, getting stronger as the long days inched on. Viktor spent hours gazing out at the horizon, but the heartbroken look on Yuuri’s face kept delaying their departure.

 

Finally, the day came when the crew could bear it no more. Phichit, teary-eyed, helped them stock the _Ice Dancer_ with food and fresh water, more than enough to get them to their next port. He managed a smile for Yuuri as they shared a last hug. By the sun’s zenith, almost everyone was aboard, and the ship was ready to set off. They were missing one person, though.

 

Chris was still standing in the shallow water below the ship. He held a few last mangoes in his arms and looked from ship to shore and back again. After a few silent moments, he called out to Sara, who was standing on deck. “I… I think I’m going to stay, Captain. See what I can do to break the curse. After all, this island is quite a refuge for handsome men.” He winked at Phichit, who smiled through his tears.

 

Sara knew if she opened her mouth, she’d cry, too, so she nodded and gave Chris a stiff salute before turning to the wheel.

 

Viktor and Yuuri cried together as the _Ice Dancer_ sailed away and Phichit’s island disappeared.

 

~

 

_Here’s the story. I’m ready to tell it now._

 

 _Mickey and I were born to a_ fata _mother and a human father. They weren’t supposed to fall in love—she was from the high fairy Court and he was a fisherman._ Fate _are all female, so our parents didn’t think they could have children. It was a miracle when Mickey and I were conceived, but it wasn’t safe. Our mother got very sick. There wasn’t enough magic in us to be fey, but too much to be human. The magic compromised, I guess, and went for one of each._

 

_I have the looks, but I don’t have any magic. No immortality, no flying, no resistance to glamour. Mickey got it all. The Court loved him—the first male fairy from the Italian peninsula. They visited and blessed him and gave him gifts, but they didn’t care about the human child._

 

_Mickey protected me when we were little. He had to; he was strong and magical and I was human and frail. We dreamed of captaining a pirate ship together and sailing the seas with no Court to divide us._

 

 _And our dream came true! We worked and grew and set out with the_ Ice Dancer _about five years ago. Everything was good, until it wasn’t._

 

_Last winter, we picked up a new crew member, a werewolf named Seung Gil. He was a cook. Mickey… didn’t like him. And I did. And that made Mickey hate him even more. He drove me crazy, Mila. He’d always been a little overbearing, but Seung Gil turned him into a monster. He started questioning my decisions, undermining my authority… I couldn’t see my brother anymore. Seung Gil left the crew, and I don’t blame him. I couldn’t reconcile this asshole with the Mickey I’d grown up with. So I kicked my own brother off our ship._

 

_I don’t know where he is now. I regret it every day. But I couldn’t live like that. I couldn’t be there for my crew when I had my own problems, so my problems had to go. Not the healthiest strategy, I know. I miss him more than you could ever imagine._

 

~

 

One winter evening, the couple sat perched on the railing of the ship, watching the sunset. The rest of the crew was downstairs, not yet finished their dinner, but Sara and Mila had snuck out of the crowded galley for a bit of fresh air. The ship was anchored off a secluded beach, and the view was incredible as the sun set below the islands on the horizon.

 

“Why is your ship called the _Ice Dancer_?” Mila asked. “The last ice Georgi and I saw on the way down was a week’s swim north.”

 

Sara sighed fondly. “Mickey’s first crush. He was an ice elemental named Emile, vacationing on Crete one winter. I’m not sure they ever spoke, honestly, but Mickey pined, and since he was an impulsive 16-year-old with a new ship…”

 

Mila giggled. “I can guess the rest.” She sensed that although Sara had opened up about her brother, it wouldn’t stop hurting for a long time. She slipped her right hand into her girlfriend’s and rubbed gentle circles with her thumb. Sara laid her head on her shoulder, still looking out into the great blackness of the sea.

 

“I’m glad you’re here, Mila. I think… I think Fate knew what she was doing when she brought us together.”

 

Mila felt her cheeks heat up. She turned to Sara, lifting her left hand and threading it through the captain’s long, salt-curly hair. She didn’t speak for several beats, thinking of what to say to cap off the perfect moment. “I really can’t top that, so I think I’ll kiss you now.”

 

Sara’s responding giggle was cut off by the lips against hers.

 

Mila pulled back and met Sara’s strange purple eyes. They sat there for a while, swinging their legs over the gentle waves. Sara hooked her ankle around Mila’s. Her skin was rough with salt.

 

“Mila… I think I love you.”

 

The selkie’s eyes widened. She could suddenly hear her heartbeat in her ears, like she’d dived down deep, deep underwater to catch a low-swimming fish. This was unfamiliar territory. She’d usually have ended the relationship by now. She’d never been with a girl long enough to feel _love_ , but, then again, she’d never felt the electric-eel sparks with anyone before. Was that love? Did she love Sara? _Could_ she?

 

“I can practically hear how much you’re worrying, Mila. You don’t have to say it back. I just… wanted to tell you. You’ve made my life so much better, helped me heal, fit in perfectly with my crew. I don’t know where I’d be without you.”

 

Mila forced herself to smile. Her mind trusted Sara, but her heart was stuck on the stories of  selkies she knew who’d given their hearts away too quickly and could never, ever get them back. She hugged her skin closer around her without realising it. “I’m sorry…” She couldn’t look into Sara’s eyes anymore. “Can we just go to sleep? I had a long day.”

 

Sara didn’t say anything as they approached the captain’s quarters. When they were both tucked into bed, she kissed Mila once on the forehead. They fell asleep to the sound of Yuri’s screeching, started up again for the first time in months.

 

~

 

The Winter Solstice dawned cold and grey. When Mila woke up, she was so cold she forgot for a moment where she was. It seemed like the events of the past half-a-year had all been a dream, and she was back with her childhood pod in the brisk North Atlantic, instead of half a world away in a pirate captain’s bed.

 

Sara wasn’t beside her, and it looked like they’d kicked off the blankets while they slept. A shiver ran down Mila’s spine, but she shook her head to clear it and got up to look for breakfast.

 

At noon, Minami called out from the crow’s nest. “Sirens to port!” Mila didn’t have his bird-vision, but she could faintly see the movement of their wings in the distance. Otabek jumped into the water, changing form as he fell through the air. It was customary procedure; one of the flying or swimming crew members would scout out the threat and report back to Sara before they decided on a course of action. Mila tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for him to return with news.

 

There was something _off_ on the ship today. No one had slept well because of Yuri’s yelling. Viktor paced the deck, gazing at the horizon every few minutes. Minami was fluttering around Yuuri’s head, and the crane spirit uncharacteristically swatted at him. Sara was nowhere to be seen. None of the crew felt ready to deal with their first dangerous encounter in half a year. The sirens’ song had begun to float almost imperceptibly through the air before Otabek finally returned.

 

“Where’s the captain?” He gasped, out of breath. “We need to get away, and quick. They’re hungry.”

 

Viktor winced. “I think I know this flock; their song is familiar. They’re distant cousins on my father’s side. Horrible at reunions.” Yuuri chuckled nervously.

 

Sara appeared from belowdecks, and Mila unconsciously relaxed. She was holding a box of wax earplugs, which she began to pass out to the crew. “We’ve heard a little bit of the song, so tensions will probably run high for a few days. Everyone put these on before it gets worse. We can’t have anyone jumping overboard.”

 

She approached Mila last. Everyone else had their earplugs in, and the crew members who weren’t necessary for navigation had begun to filter belowdecks.

 

“I want to hear them. Tie me to the mast so I can’t jump overboard.”

 

Mila shook her head immediately. “Not on my watch, Crispino. I don’t care how enlightening it’s supposed to be. I don’t want you to be in any more danger than necessary.”

 

Sara crossed her arms. “I don’t recall asking your permission. Put those plugs in and tie me tight.”

 

“I’m not doing it.” A cool wind blew across the deck, and Mila clenched her fists in the edges of her skin-cloak.

“Now is not the time for insurrection. I’m the captain, my word goes, and that doesn’t change just because we’re dating, Mila.”

 

“I hadn’t realised that was how we we’d decided to do it! Interesting how these relationship conversations keep happening without me.” Mila hissed.

 

Sara looked behind her. Mila followed her gaze and saw most of the crew still on deck, staring at them, deaf to the poisonous words being thrown right in front of their eyes. “You mean the conversation where we said we loved each other? I don’t remember that one going so well.”

 

Mila’s eyes prickled with tears, but she blinked them back and bared her teeth. “So, you don’t accept my not saying it back. I thought so. You could have told me then and there instead of patronizing me. I’m not a little pup, and I’m not naïve because I don’t know human customs. I can tell when someone’s lying, Princess.”

 

“If you don’t appreciate how hard I’ve worked to integrate you into my crew, why don’t you leave?” Sara’s voice was as cold as the breeze chilling Mila’s thin human body.

 

“They like me fine. You’re the one who sulks more than the _domovoi_ over your poor missing brother,” she sing-songed, unconsciously imitating the siren song in the air. “when it’s your fault he’s gone anyway. Get over yourself.”

 

Sara’s voice quavered, but she did not stand down. “Get. Off. My. Ship.”

 

Mila’s throat was so tight she could barely breathe. “You can’t solve every fucking problem like that, Crispino. Kick your brother out, kick me out… soon enough everyone will be gone. What will you be without a crew to shepherd?”

 

Sara pulled out a revolver Mila hadn’t known she possessed and pointed it at her. “I told you to _leave_.”

 

Mila put the wax plugs in her ears, turned around, and jumped into the sea, only changing form when the salt water stung her weak human eyes more than the tears did.

 

~

 

She found Georgi on the beach they’d first landed on, where she’d met Sara, where everything had started. He was sitting in the sand with a chest in his arms and staring out at the too-early sunset. He looked skeletal and tired, so different from the day she’d left him on this same beach. When she rose from the sea, he put his arms around her seal body without saying a word.

 

They sat together for hours, pondering the events that had brought them here, hundreds of miles from home, with one heart returned and one broken. When Mila finally spoke, her words were so soft they blended with the chirping of crickets from the forest behind them and the gentle waves on the sand.

 

“That mermaid was right.” She whispered. “Stay away from pirates.”

 

They left with the rising sun.

 

~

 

Sara didn’t sleep that night. She didn’t sleep the next night, or the night after, either. When Christmas came, Yurio picked the lock to her room and crawled up on the bed to sit on her lap. She petted his dusty head, and for once, he didn’t growl. They sat together in silence, mourning for the _baba yaga_ who’d left their lives so violently.

 

She finally left her room when the crew was communing for Christmas dinner. She stood in front of her loyal shipmates, hair matted and face dirty, and spoke in a quivering voice. “Otabek, plot a course for the nearest major port. I’m letting you all go.”

 

Shouts of confusion rang out from the crowd, but Sara wouldn’t let anyone talk to her. She brushed off questions and pulled her captain’s hat down to hide the redness around her eyes.

 

Sara climbed the crow’s nest alone and sat there all night. Yuuri flew up to her a few hours after the sun set, not changing or saying a word. He just stood between her knees and let her cry into his blood-red feathers. When her tears ran out, Sara hurled her gun as far as she could, and she and Yuuri watched it arc down and splash into the sea.

 

They arrived at port with the new day. The city was still decorated for Christmas, but the flowers were beginning to wilt and the fruit was turning brown. Sara walked off as soon as the gangplank was down and did her best to disappear into the crowd. She couldn’t bear seeing the grief in her crew’s eyes.

 

~

 

That evening found the former pirate captain in a seedy bar near the docks. There was a fiddler playing, but she couldn’t seem to hear the music. Likewise, her drink was tasteless in her mouth. She couldn’t stop thinking about Mila’s face when she’d pulled the gun on her. Sara had seen that expression too many times for one lifetime; it was the same expression Mickey had had when he left. Their shocked faces seemed to be following her around, appearing in the crowd around her, looking her straight in the eye and condemning her—until she’d blink and see it was only a stranger.

 

A man sat next to her at the bar. He was breathing heavily and looking over his shoulder, but Sara didn’t have enough energy to care about some fugitive. Hopefully he wouldn’t disrupt her moping.

 

She was a monster, just as bad as Mickey had been. Except instead of keeping people too close, she’d cut them off. _Soon everyone will be gone…_ Mila hadn’t known how quickly her jab had come true. Sara scoffed to herself. It was better for the crew to be without her. She hurt everyone she tried to love.

 

There was a sudden scuffle to her right as the man next to her was violently picked up by a burly woman. She held him off the ground by the collar with one hand and raised a knife with the other. No one else in the bar seemed to care. Sara raised her gaze lazily. She’d seen violence before; she was a pirate, after all. Maybe a bar fight would make her _feel_ something. Then she caught a glimpse of the man’s face and her heart stood still.

 

“Mickey—” Sara whispered. He turned towards her and had the time to smile—oh, how she’d missed that smile—before the knife plunged into his stomach. His attacker dropped him onto the filthy floor of the bar and sheathed her knife. Sara screamed.

 

She knelt on the floor next to her brother, uncaring of the danger. She said his name like a chant, over and over, _mickey mickey mickey don’t die please stay with me mickey_ , as if identifying him as her own would stop her world from falling apart. Miraculously, the attacker didn’t seem to care that she was frantically trying to stop the bleeding. She chuckled a little before picking both of them up, one twin under each arm, and walking out of the bar.

 

~

 

Sara was too tired to fight. The woman who’d stabbed Mickey carried them through the dingy streets to the docks, where she swung them onto a dinghy and began rowing away from the island. Sara laid her head on Mickey’s shoulder and fell in and out of consciousness as the sea rocked them.

 

She dreamed of her mother, standing over Sara’s bassinet, holding a tiny Mickey in her arms. Purple sparks ran out of Mickey’s chubby fingers into their mother’s body, but they didn’t seem to bother her. She sang a lilting fey lullaby to him and set him down out of Sara’s sight. Then she looked to her daughter and rocked the bassinet gently, singing a different song, earthier, with words that her tongue struggled to pronounce. There was no magic in this song, only a sense of duty. Sara looked into her mother’s deep purple eyes, the only thing she’d inherited, seeking comfort, but they were foreign and cold. Her mother smiled, and her teeth were needle-sharp. Sara shut her eyes and clenched her fists, hoping the fairy would just _go away_ , and in the darkness she was falling—

 

—onto the deck of the _Ice Dancer_ , familiar as her brother’s face, but different than the ship she lived on and loved; it was the _Ice Dancer_ before she went by that name, when the twins had first made her their own. The deck was too shiny, missing the scratches and scuffs from countless practice battles and crew parties. There were no sails or rigging, and no one on the ship except for her. She was surrounded by open sea, nothing in sight for miles except a grey seal sunning itself on a sandbar. As she stared at the horizon, another ship appeared. It grew closer at an impossible speed, and within a few seconds she could see that it was flying a skull and crossbones. The strange ship approached the sandbar without slowing down. It was going to run aground! The seal didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. Sara cried out; she didn’t know whether she was trying to warn the ship or the seal or both. But neither seemed to hear her. Time slowed around them as the ship crashed into the ground. The seal disappeared behind the waves and wreckage. Once again, Sara squeezed her eyes shut. She curled into a ball and covered her ears, wishing that she were anywhere else.

 

When she woke, Mickey’s breaths had run out.

 

~

 

The attacker dumped them into the shallow water on the beach of a small, lonely island. She spat at Mickey and cursed before rowing away without an explanation or another word.

 

Sara made it to the edge of the water before her knees collapsed under her and the tears started falling. The _Ice Dancer_ was gone. Her crew was gone. And Mickey lay in her arms, cold as ice. She sat in the surf, sobbing, and washed the blood off his too-pale face. She closed his eyes gently. He looked so young, like when they’d first entered this horrible life, a couple of teenagers with a ship and a dream.

 

“Why did we choose this, Mickey?” She whispered into his hair. “How could we have been so stupid?”

 

He didn’t reply.

 

Sara murmured what she could remember of the Hail Mary. _Now and at the hour of our death…_ she’d never imagined that would be relevant so soon. But here she was, marooned and alone, with her brother cold and heavy next to her. They hadn’t even given her a gun to end it with.

 

Her tears fell into the waves, salt mixing with salt, once, twice, seven times. Then she laid down beside her twin, curled an arm around him, and closed her eyes.

 

~

 

When Sara woke up, it was sunny and hot. She stretched her arms above her head before opening her eyes slowly to face a new day… and then the events of the night before came rushing back. Balling her fists in the soft blanket shielding her from the sun, she curled up as small as she could and let her tears fall. Her sobs blocked out the gentle song floating in the sea-wind around her. Mickey was gone, and she didn’t even have the means to bury him. Her hand reached out to grasp his, but it wasn’t there. His body wasn’t beside her.

 

Sara bolted upright, the blanket falling off her shoulders. Not a blanket; it was a cloak of short fur, grey and dappled with brown. She looked frantically from side to side, taking in the lonely beach, the lack of Mickey, and the fire burning a few steps away. A figure was huddled over it, and another was lying in the sand beside them.

 

Sara jumped to her feet, scrambling for a weapon in the pockets of her coat. Finding none, she raised her fists. “Who goes there? What have you done with my brother!”

 

The figure turned around, red hair glinting in the sunlight, and Sara’s sobs began anew. It was Mila Babicheva, with Mickey at her feet. Sara dropped her fists and ran into her arms.

 

~

 

Sara’s weight in Mila’s arms felt like coming home. She’d missed her so, so much, regretting their parting words every day since she’d left. She held her for what seemed like hours as Sara cried and cried.

 

When the tears slowed, Mila sat the girl next to her and passed her a wineskin full of fresh water and the fish she’d roasted over the fire. Sara ate ravenously, her eyes flitting between Michele’s limp body and Mila’s warm smile.

 

As Sara ate, Mila explained how she’d found them.

 

“When you cried seven tears into the Sea, she called to me.” Mila shivered, remembered the Mother’s haunting voice. “She told me I’d made a grave mistake, as if I didn’t already know that! Then she took hold of my flipper and led me to you.” She took Sara’s trembling hand in hers and kissed her palm. “I’m so, so sorry, Sara. If you never forgive me, I’ll understand, and I’ll respect your decision. I’ll leave as soon as I’ve helped your brother.”

 

Sara cupped her other hand around Mila’s cheek, forcing her to make eye contact. Those eerie purple eyes shone out from her dirty face, made even brighter by the redness that surrounded them. She still hadn’t said a word. Mila longed to hear her voice again, but she wouldn’t push.

 

Sara dropped her hands from Mila and turned to her brother. Her long hair covered both of their faces as she leaned over his still body. Mila could see her shoulders move as she sobbed. She kneeled in the sand beside Michele and placed a steady hand on Sara’s back.

 

“I don’t know if this will work. Please don’t get your hopes up—I’ve never tried anything like this before. But I’ll do everything I can to help him.” Sara nodded silently and moved away from the body.

 

Mila closed her eyes and tried to remember the sound of the Sea-Mother’s voice. The gentle song of the waves grew louder and louder in her ears, and the electric-eel spark she’d felt the first time Sara had touched her hand ran through her entire body. She could feel her fingers, her whiskers, her legs, and her flippers all at once. As the magic inherent in her body flowed all around her, Mila leaned over Michele, grasped both of his cold hands, and kissed him gently on the forehead.

 

She sat back and opened her eyes as Michele gasped a breath so powerful it lifted his limp body off the ground. He fell silent again after a moment, but his chest was rising and falling, and the colour slowly returned to his cheeks.

 

“ _One spared to the Sea is three spared to the land_. I always thought that was a little unfair to selkie-kind, so it’s nice that it was one-for-one this time.” Sara couldn’t hold in a shock-fueled giggle. Her tearstained face contorted into laughter. It was ugly and snotty and the most beautiful thing Mila had ever seen. They sat together, wrapped in Mila’s skin, listening to Michele’s soft but steady breathing, until Sara was calm enough to talk again.

 

“Don’t leave.” she said. And Mila didn’t say it out loud, but she made a promise in her heart, with the sea and sky as witnesses, that she’d never, ever leave Sara again.

 

~

 

Mickey woke up after they ate a crude lunch cooked on Mila’s campfire. He was weak and pale, but alive, and Sara hugged him so tightly she felt like they would meld into one person.

 

“I suppose we both have a lot to explain.” He said quietly.

 

“I’m so, so, sorry, Mickey—both of you—I missed you every day—” Sara felt tears threatening her eyes, but Mickey cut her off.

 

“That’s not what I meant, _sorellina_. I forgive you.”

 

Mila nodded vigorously. “Me too! Of course!”

 

Mickey grinned, and Sara recognized her mischievous twin behind the layers of sweat and blood. “I meant this lovely lady. You haven’t introduced us, but the two of you seem… close. Man, a guy leaves for a year and everything changes!”

 

Sara giggled nervously. “Um. This is my girlfriend, Mila. She’s been with the ship since Midsummer.”

 

Mickey held out a hand. “A pleasure. I’m sure you take good care of her. I’ve learned that it’s not my job anymore.”

 

Mila smiled and shook his hand. “It’s not mine either. Your sister is a force of her own.”

 

Mickey ducked his head in disbelief. “You caught a good one, Sara.” His expression sobered. “I should tell you what I’ve been doing, though.

 

“After I, um, _left_ the Ice Dancer, I went back to the Court for a while. There was a human there, the first human I’d ever seen within a hundred miles of the Fairy Court. She was in the same boat as our father; beloved of a fey woman and shunned by the culture she’d married into. She explained fey prejudices to me—I’m so sorry for ignoring how they treated you, Sara.

 

“We spent weeks searching the Court libraries for information of half-fairy children. There aren’t a lot of us. When we’d almost given up, we came across the story of the Gemini.

 

“Their story was a lot crazier than ours—I think they were born out of a swan egg?—but the main gist was the same. Half-blooded twins, one got power and one didn’t. But it doesn’t end there. They were sad without each other. Pollux, the immortal twin, spent time on Olympus, while his brother Castor stayed on Earth, and they missed each other. So they fought the magic, and figured out how to split it between them. Jupiter even immortalised then in a constellation when their shared time ran out.

 

“I’d like to do that too, Sara. You deserve half of our inheritance.”

 

Sara grinned. Of course the other half of her heart would know what she wanted before she’d figured it out herself. “But why were you being chased, Mickey? Who was it that tried to kill you?”

 

Mickey grimaced. “She succeeded. I was dead for quite a while before your selkie saved me. I’m still not sure how that worked.”

 

Mila shrugged. “It was all instinct. Don’t ask me, ask the Sea Mother.”

 

“That woman was a fellow pirate captain—I’m surprised you didn’t recognise her. I’ve been shadowing the _Ice Dancer_ , keeping the crazy political turmoil away from you. The pirates in the Mediterranean have been infighting for about a year now. Horrible stuff. Sea battles, bombs at port, setting monsters on each other. I warded the  _Ice Dancer_ to keep her away from all other pirate ships until the fighting died down. Some of the other captains didn't like that. They thought you must have some sort of powerful magical artefact aboard; something worth protecting." He laughed. "They couldn't believe that the only thing I was protecting was you."

 

"I thought we'd just come to the conclusion that I don't need protecting, _fratellino_." Sara frowned.

 

Mickey faltered. "I-I'm still teaching myself that. But I was looking out for the crew, too! And aren't you glad you got a year off fighting to spend with your  _amore_?" He stuck out his tongue at her. 

 

Sara sighed at her immature brother and turned to look out at the sea. She couldn’t believe her luck. She was snuggled close to the woman she loved as Mila joked around with Mickey, who was getting stronger as the hours wore on. The two of them were getting along better than she’d ever dreamed they would. As she spotted the silhouette of the _Ice Dancer_ , come to rescue them, on the horizon, she leaned against Mila, breathing in the salty scent of her fur, and closed her eyes. She had never been happier.

 

THE END

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> yes, Sara and Mickey call each other "little brother" and "little sister".
> 
> hit me up on tumblr [@jolybean](http://jolybean.tumblr.com) to talk about all the weird mythological references i managed to slip in to this fic!
> 
> i have an epilogue planned, with Minako as Circe! it'll be up whenever school allows me the time to write...
> 
> also, by the way...  
> mila: grey seal  
> otabek: caspian seal  
> minami: japanese goldcrest  
> yuuri: red-crowned crane


End file.
